BRANCH PROJECT 002 · Status ACTIVE
The Amanda Smith Branch
Document the descendant line connecting John and Laura Smith to Amberly R. Carter-Mills, generation by generation, with each link held to its own evidence and no link strengthened because of who stands at the end of it.
From John + Laura Smith to Amberly R. Carter-Mills. Lead researcher: Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist.
Why the founder is here
Descendant first, archivist second
Why the founder is in the archive
BEFORE TILL includes Amberly R. Carter-Mills as both a living descendant in the Smith–Tolliver family and the founder of the archive. Her genealogical relationships are subject to the same evidence standards applied throughout the project.
The two roles are kept apart on purpose. As a researcher she decides what the archive publishes; as a descendant she is one more person in the graph whose links must be proved. Nothing on this branch is stronger because she wrote the standard.
The branch
Seven passes through one descendant line
01
John + Laura
The branch begins where the archive's earliest reconstruction ends: the Mississippi household of John Smith and Laura Tolliver Smith, and behind them Hilliard and Bettie. Everything below hangs from that household. If a link fails, this branch shortens — it does not reroute.
02
Amanda
Amanda Smith is named in the written family history as their daughter. That is where her record stands. No census line, marriage record or death record examined here places her in the household under both parents, and none has yet been found that documents her own life at all.
03
Kermit
Kermit Gordon is carried as Amanda's child by living family knowledge. He exists here as a person in his own right, with an empty documentary file: no birth record, no census entry, no death certificate, no Social Security application has been entered for him.
04
Magnolia
Magnolia “Maggie” Carter, born Magnolia Gordon in 1956, is living and has consented to be named. Her account of her own parentage is first-hand family knowledge. It is not yet independently documented, and the archive does not pretend otherwise.
05
Amberly
Amberly R. Carter-Mills appears in this genealogy as a living descendant, separately from her role as the archive's founder. Her link to her mother is known directly within the family and described — not shown — by a modern vital record the archive has not yet obtained.
06
Follow the evidence backward
Read the branch upward from Amberly and it stops being a lineage claim and becomes four separate questions, each with its own answer and its own gap. Three of the four rest on family knowledge alone. That is stated plainly rather than smoothed over.
07
What we still don't know
Amanda's birth, marriage, household and death. Kermit's entire documented life. A record naming Kermit as Magnolia's parent. A certified copy of the Illinois certificate. Until those exist, this branch is verified only as far as its last documented person.
Four generations
Amanda, Kermit, Magnolia, Amberly
Generation 1
Amanda Smith
BT-PER-00270
Named in the family history as a daughter of John and Laura Smith, and the first generation of the branch the archive traces toward Amberly R. Carter-Mills.
Under Investigation
Open the profileGeneration 2
Kermit Gordon
BT-PER-00271
Recorded in family knowledge as a child of Amanda Smith. No contemporary record establishing that link has been entered.
Under Investigation
Open the profileGeneration 3
Magnolia "Maggie" Carter
BT-PER-00272
Living · consent recorded
Magnolia "Maggie" Carter, born Magnolia Gordon on April 25, 1956, is a living descendant in the Amanda Smith branch and the mother of the archive's founder. She worked as a registered nurse. She married twice and divorced twice, and kept the surname of her second husband, Michael Carter. She has recorded consent to be named in this archive; no photograph and no personal document is published for her.
Family Tradition
Open the profileGeneration 4
Amberly R. Carter-Mills
BT-PER-00273
Living · consent recorded
Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist of BEFORE TILL. Cultural technologist, researcher and interpreter, and a living descendant of the John and Laura Smith household. Born 23 May 1985 and recorded at birth under the surname Harris, the surname of her mother's first husband, whose name Illinois law required on the original certificate because the marriage had not yet been dissolved. Michael Carter married her mother in 1986 and adopted her at the age of one, at which point her surname became Carter. She considers herself a member of Michael Carter's family. Biological paternity is attributed to Tyrone White and is recorded for accuracy only; no relationship is claimed.
Open the profileComputed from the graph
The line, in both directions
Downward · the branch narrative
From John + Laura to Amberly
BT-PER-00004
Family Traditionlink from the generation above
BT-PER-00270
Under Investigationlink from the generation above
BT-PER-00271
Under Investigationlink from the generation above
BT-PER-00272 · b. April 25, 1956
Family Traditionlink from the generation above
BT-PER-00273 · b. May 23, 1985
Upward · the founder's ancestral path
From Amberly back into the family
BT-PER-00273 · b. May 23, 1985
BT-PER-00272 · b. April 25, 1956
Family Traditionlink to the generation above
BT-PER-00271
Under Investigationlink to the generation above
BT-PER-00270
Under Investigationlink to the generation above
BT-PER-00004
Branch confidence
Branch verified through John Smith
A descent path is only as strong as its weakest step. The weakest link on this branch is currently held as under investigation, so the branch is not presented as a verified lineage below that point, no matter how well known the people at the end of it are.
Amanda Smith
Under Investigation
Kermit Gordon
Under Investigation
Magnolia "Maggie" Carter
Family Tradition
Amberly R. Carter-Mills
Under Investigation
Show me the proof
Every step opens its own record
BT-PER-00273
BT-PER-00272
Family TraditionEvidence for this linkBT-PER-00271
Under InvestigationEvidence for this linkBT-PER-00270
Under InvestigationEvidence for this linkBT-PER-00004
Two kinds of knowing
Family knowledge is evidence; it is not documentation
Two kinds of knowing
Family knowledge and documentary verification
Family knowledge
A relationship known directly within the living family, stated by the people who lived it. It is testimony, and this archive treats testimony as evidence — recorded, attributed and dated, not dismissed.
It is not independently verifiable by a third party, and it can preserve an error as faithfully as a fact.
Documentary verification
A relationship independently supported by a record created at or near the time: a birth certificate, a census enumeration, a death certificate, a church register, a funeral program.
It is not a higher form of truth than family memory. It is an independent second witness, and that is all this archive asks of it.
Both appear on this branch, labelled. The archive does not imply that documentary evidence is the only legitimate form of family knowledge, and it does not let family knowledge stand in as documentation.
Evidence trails
Claim → evidence → source → current conclusion
BT-CLM-00291Amanda → child of John + Laura
Claim
Parent-child relationship between john-smith and amanda-smith, held as a single generation link rather than as part of a lineage assertion.
Evidence
The family history names Amanda Smith among the children of John and Laura Smith. No census line, birth record or death record naming both parents has yet been transcribed into this archive.
BT-EVD-00293 · Supports · weight weak
Source
- Bibliographic details pending — family history by Alma Smith Spearman [BT-SRC-00040 · Book · Authored Narrative]COMPLETE BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION NEEDED. Published family history / descendant-authored narrative. Title, publisher, and publication date have not yet been supplied. A valuable family source; it is not automatically contemporary documentary proof for events predating the author's lifetime.
Current conclusion
The family history names Amanda Smith among the children of John and Laura Smith. No census line, birth record or death record naming both parents has yet been transcribed into this archive.
- What is known
- The family history names Amanda Smith among the children of John and Laura Smith. No census line, birth record or death record naming both parents has yet been transcribed into this archive.
- What is not known
- No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
- Next records to search
- Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
BT-CON-00292 · version 1
BT-CLM-00296Kermit → child of Amanda
Claim
Parent-child relationship between amanda-smith and kermit-gordon, held as a single generation link rather than as part of a lineage assertion.
Evidence
Family knowledge places Kermit Gordon as a child of Amanda Smith. No contemporary record has been entered, so the generation is carried as under verification.
BT-EVD-00298 · Partially Supports · weight weak
Source
- Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills [BT-SRC-00264 · Oral History · Authored Narrative]Family knowledge, recorded as such. It is evidence of what the family carries, and it is not a substitute for a contemporary record.
Current conclusion
Family knowledge places Kermit Gordon as a child of Amanda Smith. No contemporary record has been entered, so the generation is carried as under verification.
- What is known
- Family knowledge places Kermit Gordon as a child of Amanda Smith. No contemporary record has been entered, so the generation is carried as under verification.
- What is not known
- No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
- Next records to search
- Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
BT-CON-00297 · version 1
BT-CLM-00300Magnolia → child of Kermit
Claim
Magnolia "Maggie" Carter, born Magnolia Gordon on 25 April 1956, was a child of Kermit Gordon.
Evidence
Family knowledge places a private living descendant as a child of Kermit Gordon. No contemporary record has been entered into the archive.
BT-EVD-00302 · Partially Supports · weight weak
Source
- Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills [BT-SRC-00264 · Oral History · Authored Narrative]Family knowledge, recorded as such. It is evidence of what the family carries, and it is not a substitute for a contemporary record.
Current conclusion
Family knowledge places a private living descendant as a child of Kermit Gordon. No contemporary record has been entered into the archive.
- What is known
- Family knowledge places a private living descendant as a child of Kermit Gordon. No contemporary record has been entered into the archive.
- What is not known
- No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
- Next records to search
- Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
BT-CON-00301 · version 1
BT-CLM-00304Amberly → child of Magnolia
Claim
Amberly R. Carter-Mills, born 23 May 1985, is a child of Magnolia "Maggie" Carter, born Magnolia Gordon.
Evidence
Direct family knowledge of a living descendant. Any vital record supporting this link is held in restricted storage; only a redacted public derivative may ever be displayed.
BT-EVD-00306 · Supports · weight moderate
An Illinois certificate of birth exists in original and amended form for Amberly R. Carter-Mills and names the mother. The archive has not yet obtained a certified copy, so this record is described rather than cited, and the parent-child link is not upgraded on the strength of a document nobody here has examined.
BT-EVD-00388 · Partially Supports · weight context_only
Source
- Family knowledge supplied by Amberly R. Carter-Mills [BT-SRC-00264 · Oral History · Authored Narrative]Family knowledge, recorded as such. It is evidence of what the family carries, and it is not a substitute for a contemporary record.
- Amended Illinois certificate of birth for Amberly R. Carter-Mills, 23 May 1985 — described derivative, no image published [BT-SRC-00387 · Vital Record · Abstract]RECORD VERIFIED — PUBLIC COPY REDACTED. Document type, issuing body and the relationship it establishes are public. The original image, certificate number, signatures and address are restricted.
Current conclusion
Direct family knowledge of a living descendant. Any vital record supporting this link is held in restricted storage; only a redacted public derivative may ever be displayed.
- What is known
- Direct family knowledge of a living descendant. Any vital record supporting this link is held in restricted storage; only a redacted public derivative may ever be displayed.
- What is not known
- No contemporary record establishing this relationship has been examined by this archive and entered as an original.
- Next records to search
- Locate and examine a census enumeration, birth record, death record naming parents, marriage record, obituary, Social Security application, church record or probate file.
BT-CON-00305 · version 1
Generations 1 and 2
Amanda Smith and Kermit Gordon
BT-CLM-00379Who was Amanda Smith?
Amanda Smith is the first generation of this branch and the least documented person in it. Everything below her depends on her, and almost nothing about her own life has been established from a record.
When was she born? Where was she born? Which census households contain her? Who did she marry? When did she begin using the Gordon surname, and was it through marriage? Who were her children? Where did she live as an adult? When did she die? Where is she buried?
Open the recordBT-CLM-00380What is the documented life chronology of Kermit Gordon?
Kermit Gordon is carried here as a child of Amanda Smith on family knowledge. His own life — birth, work, marriage, movement, death — is presently a blank the archive has not filled.
What records establish his birth and death? Whom did he marry, and when? Where did he live, and did he move? Which records connect him, by name, to the Smith line?
Open the recordGenerations 3 and 4
Living people, recorded with consent
BT-CLM-00381Which records for Magnolia Gordon-Carter can be published?
She is living. The archive holds her name, her birth date, her occupation and her marriages as consented family knowledge, and treats every record about her as restricted until she approves a specific redacted extract.
Which historical documents are appropriate for publication? Which family memories does she wish recorded? Which photographs, if any, may be shown? Which record establishes her parentage?
Open the recordBT-CLM-00382Which of the founder's own records may appear in the archive?
For any modern record used to support a link in this branch, the archive publishes the document type, the issuing body, the relationship it establishes and its verification status. It does not publish the original, the certificate number, signatures, or any address.
Which evidence should remain private? Which records may be shown in redacted form? Which personal reflection should accompany this branch?
Open the recordBT-CLM-00329How did the founder's surname change from Harris to Carter?
The founder was named Harris at birth and Carter after her adoption at the age of one. The sequence rests on founder testimony; the adoption decree and the amended certificate have not been entered.
Can the adoption decree and the amended Illinois certificate be obtained and entered as a redacted derivative?
Open the recordBT-CLM-00331Who was named as father on the founder's original birth certificate, and why?
A name on a birth certificate can be a legal presumption rather than a statement of parentage. The original certificate named the mother's then-husband because Illinois law required it. The archive records this as a legal record fact and makes no parentage claim from it.
Obtain both the original and the amended certificate so the legal sequence can be cited from documents rather than testimony.
Open the recordRecord verified — public copy redacted
Modern document provenance
For records touching living people the archive publishes the file about the document, never the document. No image, certificate number, signature or address is stored in any public location.
Certificate of birth — original
- Issuing body
- State of Illinois, Division of Vital Records
- Date reviewed
- Not yet obtained
- Reviewed by
- Amberly R. Carter-Mills
- Relationship supported
- Mother-child relationship; father named under marital presumption
- Access
- Private
- Redaction status
- No image, number, signature or address published
- File provenance
- Family-held; archive copy not yet acquired
State of Illinois certificate of birth for Amberly R. Carter-Mills, 23 May 1985, original version. Described from founder testimony; certified copy not yet ordered.
Certificate of birth — amended after adoption
- Issuing body
- State of Illinois, Division of Vital Records
- Date reviewed
- Not yet obtained
- Reviewed by
- Amberly R. Carter-Mills
- Relationship supported
- Mother-child relationship; Michael Carter recorded as father following adoption
- Access
- Public description, private original
- Redaction status
- RECORD VERIFIED — PUBLIC COPY REDACTED
- File provenance
- Family-held; archive copy not yet acquired
State of Illinois certificate of birth for Amberly R. Carter-Mills, 23 May 1985, amended version. Described from founder testimony; certified copy not yet ordered.
Descendant privacy audit
Checked before this branch was published
- No unredacted living-person vital record is public.
- No exact private address appears anywhere on this branch.
- No certificate number appears anywhere on this branch.
- No signature appears; none has been released.
- No private living relative is named beyond the relationship they consented to.
- Amberly's public profile settings reflect her own stated intent as founder.
Source hierarchy
What counts, and in what order
Source hierarchy
What this branch will accept, and in what order
Preferred
- 01 Birth certificate
- 02 Death certificate
- 03 Census enumeration
- 04 Marriage record
- 05 Social Security application (SS-5)
- 06 Obituary
- 07 Funeral program
- 08 Church record
- 09 Family Bible
- 10 Contemporary family documents
Supporting
- · Written family history
- · Oral history
- · Find a Grave
- · WikiTree
- · Genealogy websites
Unsourced online trees are a research lead only. They are never entered as evidence and never move a status.
Relationship calculator
Labels are computed, never written by hand
Relationship calculator validation
Amberly R. Carter-Mills ↔ Laura Tolliver Smith
Relationship path partially verified
The graph computes great-great-grandchild through Laura Tolliver Smith. The weakest link on that path is held as under investigation, so the label is withheld as a finding and shown only as a working calculation.
- Amberly R. Carter-Mills
- Magnolia "Maggie" Carter
- Kermit Gordon
- Amanda Smith
- Laura Tolliver Smith
Enslavement records, historical associations and shared surnames are excluded from this calculation. Only parent-child, adoptive parent-child and sibling edges between people recorded as family are traversed, and no cousin label entered by hand is ever trusted.
Relationship calculator validation
Amberly R. Carter-Mills ↔ Emmett Louis Till
Relationship path partially verified
The graph computes third cousin through John Smith. The weakest link on that path is held as under investigation, so the label is withheld as a finding and shown only as a working calculation.
- Amberly R. Carter-Mills
- Magnolia "Maggie" Carter
- Kermit Gordon
- Amanda Smith
- John Smith
- George Smith
- Alma Smith Carthan Spearman
- Mamie Elizabeth Carthan Till-Mobley
- Emmett Louis Till
Enslavement records, historical associations and shared surnames are excluded from this calculation. Only parent-child, adoptive parent-child and sibling edges between people recorded as family are traversed, and no cousin label entered by hand is ever trusted.
Two branches. One family.
Same roots, different paths
Two branches. One family.
Same roots, different paths
George Smith Branch
BT-PER-00266
BT-PER-00267
Mamie Elizabeth Carthan Till-Mobley
BT-PER-00268
BT-PER-00269
No cousin degree is stated here. Both branches currently depend on links carried by family knowledge, and a relationship label computed across two unverified links would look like a finding when it is not one. The calculator below shows what it can compute and what it cannot.
What we still don't know
Public research questions
Amanda Smith
- Exact birth date and place?
- Exact death date and burial place?
- Whom did she marry, and when?
- Which census households contain her?
- Where did she live as an adult?
- When and how did the Gordon surname enter this line?
Kermit Gordon
- What is his full life chronology?
- Whom did he marry, and when?
- Did he migrate, and from where to where?
- Which records connect him by name to the Smith line?
Magnolia Gordon-Carter
- Which historical documents are appropriate for publication?
- Which family memories should be recorded as oral history?
- Which photographs, if any, may be shown?
- Which record independently proves her parentage?
Amberly R. Carter-Mills
- Which evidence should remain private?
- Which records can be shown in redacted form?
- Which personal reflection should accompany this branch?
If you hold a record
A birth record for Kermit Gordon, a census page naming Amanda Smith in a household, an obituary, a funeral program, a church register: any one of these would move a generation on this branch from family knowledge to documentation.
Contribute to the archiveCite this page
Carter-Mills, Amberly R. "Branch Project 002: The Amanda Smith Branch." BEFORE TILL: The Living Evidence Archive. Version not yet assigned. Object BRANCH-PROJECT-002. Accessed 2026-09-24.
Attribution: Amberly R. Carter-Mills, Founder, Creator & Descendant Archivist.
Descendant reflection
Finding my place in the same tree
Descendant reflection / research note
Finding My Place in the Same Tree
Amberly R. Carter-Mills · Unwritten — shell only
This reflection has not been written. The archive will not draft it, paraphrase it or fill it with a plausible voice. The prompts below are waiting for her own words.
- What did you know about this branch growing up?
- Which relationships were always known in the family?
- Which ones required documentary verification?
- What surprised you when you followed the line back to John and Laura?
- What does it mean to see yourself inside the same evidence system you built for your ancestors?